A Dark Secret
by AnnelieseandDanni
Summary: Befriending the new avatar along with brothers, Mako and Bolin, Alina has a new challenge to face...her past. New enemies have arisen so will she be able to keep her secret from her new found friends, or will she expose herself to help save them?
1. Introduction

_**Hey Legend of Korra Lovers!**_

_**So, I have decided to start my first LoK Fanfic! This is kind of different than the normal writing that I do, but nonetheless, I believe it is still good and quite interesting. **_

_**This fanfic has a few different types of POV's throughout it. A lot of story is based off my original character, Alina, and her idea of the new era. However, from time-to-time, the other characters' POV's will take over. I will make sure that it is clear who is experiencing each situation and hardship. Since I have my own character involved in the storyline, below will be a little about her. **_

_**Alina is the third, and youngest, child of her parents. Very strong-willed and outspoken, she often gets into trouble. During the story, she is seventeen years of age and travels to Republic City with her mother to start over with a fresh new life. She has to keep quiet about her true identity only because her mother is afraid that others would try to harm her beloved daughter. Throughout the story, she meets her best friend and avatar, Korra, and also befriends brothers, Mako and Bolin. Will she be able to keep her secret from her new found friends, or will she expose herself to save them? **_

_**This story contains: humour, romance, betrayal, violence, drama, and slight dark themes. **_

_**All of the characters from The Legend of Korra are in this story, with some scenes with cast members from the previous Avatar: The Last Airbender**_

_**I hope you enjoy this story, as much as I have when I wrote it. And please leave reviews, and if it sucks, let me know, that way I can improve coming chapters.**_

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Legend of Korra or The Last Airbender. I only claim the ideas for my original character, Alina. 

_**~Becca **_


	2. Chapter 1: Only The Beginning

_A new beginning. A fresh start. _

That was the only thing that Alina could think about as she glanced over to her mother, who sat on the opposite side of the car. Beautiful as always, but something was missing in her mother's soul, and she knew that it had to do with her father being taken away. It was like a piece of her died or was lost along with his disappearance. Alina tried to do everything she possibly could to keep the woman at peace, but there was only so much a seventeen year old girl could do. Unlike her mother, she knew that her father would never be back. The last thing he had said to her before he was violently taken away was '_I will be back before your sixteenth birthday'_. Being naive, Alina believed him.

_ Naïve. _Yes that she was. Why would she believe a man that truly didn't want to be with her mother or with her? She drew a quick breath in as she closed her eyes, regretting ever trusting his words. She flashed them open directing their gaze out of the window. Unfortunately, she wasn't amused with moving, but what other choice did she have? The car came to a halt and Alina felt her stomach churn from her slight excitement. Her door was opened by the driver and she quickly jumped out. Her hues widen from the view of the city and before she could take the entire sight in, her thoughts rushed back to reality when she realized that it was her mother speaking.

"Alina, dear, what do you think?" Her mother asked, pointing to the buildings in front of them. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"It's OK, Mother." Alina replied taking a step backwards. "So, where will we be residing? Hopefully not here."

"Dear, why must you be so negative? Republic City is a fabulous place to live."

"Whatever." Alina snorted. "Can I go now?"

Her mother gestured for her to leave and she strode through the mass city. She cut her eyes from right to left and was slightly amazed that Republic City was different than her old hometown. She sucked in a breath and then exhaled it in one smooth motion before wiping a hand through her silk, black hair. She quickens her pace and found herself completely lost. She approached one of the shops and asked for direction to the nearest library of some sort. However, she was confused from the directions and ended up in front of the Bending Arena. She narrowed her eyes and her attention was drawn over to a guy with short black hair and piercing green eyes. He casually walked over to her and introduced himself with a grin upon his face.  
"Welcome to the Bending Arena. You must be new." He said, extending his hand, "My name is Bolin. I am one of the contenders that participate here."  
She slid her hand over his and gripped it tightly, "Hello there Bolin. It's nice to meet you. My name is Alina and yes, I am new."  
Bolin's smile broadens and then he released her hand, allowing it to far back down to her side. He took two steps forward, his eyes trailing over her body. Alina didn't like the idea of him constantly staring at her like she was some type of outcast. She narrowed her eyes and brushed a hand through her hair before she glanced up at the Bending Arena once again. So many questions passed through her mind however, it wasn't the right time to personally ask them. A newcomer in town asking thousands of questions wasn't the best way to keep a low profile. She drifted her vision back over to Bolin who was continuing to stare and judge her.

"Must you stare at me so much?" Alina snapped as she rolled her eyes. "I'm not **that** interesting, you know."

He threw his hands up, quickly shaking his head in denial, "No, no, no. I'm not judging you. It's just surprising for a Non-Bender to take interest in the Bending Arena."  
A sigh escaped her lips as she knew that was only a cover up and nothing more. She wasn't an idiot, far from it actually. She blinked her eyes and then walked passed him to the doors lending inside of the arena.

"Well maybe I'm just curious. Who wouldn't be?"

"Well, then. Maybe I could show you around." He said gesturing to the door.

Alina smiled and followed behind him closely, taking in the view of each room. Her eyebrows arched when she saw the weight or training room. She loved to work out and she had never seen such a massive workout room before and honestly, it surprised her. She pressed a hand against her forehead allowing her memory to have time enough to register every aspect of it.  
Bolin cleared his throat and Alina's attention snapped back over to him. He whistled and motioned for her to join him on the stairs. She followed step and found herself on the upper floor, staring down to the fighting arena. Just by a glimpse, she could tell that it was teams of threes battling against one another and each member had to have either fire, water, or earth as their possible bending skill. Thoughts of Bolin flooded her mind and what type of bending he possibly could have, however, just by appearances she was undecided. She bit her bottom lip allowing her imagination to run wild before dealing with reality.  
"So Alina, why have you decided to visit Republic City?" he asked, placing a firm hand against her shoulder.  
She blinked her eyes, focusing on his question and then said, "Oh, my mother wanted to move here, so I had no choice."  
Bolin stared at her and opened his mouth to say something, however, was interrupted by the entrance of another guy. He was taller than Bolin and had a darker aura about him. He didn't present to be evil, but he didn't have a happy-go-lucky attitude as Bolin did.  
Alina continued to stare at the guy that now stood before her, never averting her eyes from him. She tilted her head slightly as her gazed locked with his glowing amber eyes. There was something about him that drew her to him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Bolin, how many times do I have to tell you not to bring your little fangirls up here?"

"Fangirl…" Alina mumbled, making sure neither of the guys could hear her voice.

Bolin moved closer to the other guy and then faced Alina once more with an extended hand, "Alina, this is my older brother, Mako. He is also a contender here." He faced his brother, resting a hand against Mako's shoulder, "She wanted to know what it was like in here. So I figured I could show her around."  
Mako shook his head and then brushed his brother's hand off of his shoulder. He sucked in a quick breath and then exhaled it in one blow before he exited the room. Bolin sighed before he approached Alina once more, "I'm sorry about Mako. He's not the best person to get along with."

"You think?" Alina snapped, placing her hands on her hips. "He's a real jerk. Fangirl? Really? I'm no fangirl!"

"Of course not, but he is convinced that every girl I bring up here is, since most of them are."

Alina narrowed her hues as she lifted one of her arms and pointed her hand forward, "You listen here and listen good. I am not a fangirl and I never will be. Got it?"  
Bolin nodded quickly as he reached for her hand, "OK, I understand and I wasn't considering you to be one."  
She jerked her hand back before he could touch her. She didn't want him putting his hands on her, even if he was being sincere about it. She walked over to the railing and leaned over it, taking the view in better. Bolin then excused himself, leaving her alone to think things through.

Shortly later, Bolin returned with another girl following close behind him. Alina wondered if she was one of his fangirls.

"Hello there. My name's Korra." The girl said, extending her hand.

"Hey. I'm Alina." She said, taking the girl's hand and quickly released it.

Before either girl knew it, Bolin and his other two teammate, one being Mako, stepped out onto the fighting arena. To Alina's surprise, Mako and Bolin were quite good at bending. Her eyebrows arched upwards when she learned that Bolin was an earthbender and Mako was a firebender. Her concentration was interrupted by Korra, who was screaming for the Fire Ferrets, which was Bolin and Mako's team name. For the first time since meeting Korra, Alina had the chance to get a good look at her. She was about the same height as her, except she had a dark brown hair color instead of black. Also, Korra was dressed in a waterbender's attire, but contained a firebender's attitude. Alina couldn't help but wonder if this girl was possibly the Avatar.

"Hey, Korra." She asked, turning around so she could face the girl better. "I have a question. Are you the new Avatar?"

Korra flipped her body around so her back braced against the railing, "Why, yes, I am. Why do you ask?"  
"I thought you were, but I wasn't for sure. I just wanted to clarify my thoughts."

"I see. Well, it's interesting how a Non-Bender is interested in the Pro-Bending matches. I never would have thought I would befriend one so quickly." Korra smiled, turning around to watch the match once again.  
The corners of Alina's mouth quirked upward and for once in her life, she was content. She straightened her stance and headed for the door and then glanced over her shoulder, "Well, Korra. I will see you around. I have to head back. Tell the guys, great match, for me."  
As Alina left, she knew that her mother was worried and she had to get home. She didn't know how she was going to explain to her that she was a Pro-Bending match, watching six guys fighting it out. She drew a deep breath inward and then exhaled it. She knew in any case, her mother was going to kill her for disobeying.


	3. Chapter 2: Realization

Alina walked through the door of her small new home. It was smaller than what she was used to, but who could complain when it sheltered the rain off of her head. She shut the door behind her, walking from room to room, searching for her mother, who obviously wasn't there. She was surprised that it was already dusk and there was no presence of her mother in the hallways. She then strode over to her bedroom and fell backwards onto the soft bed. She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering everything and everyone she had encountered for the day.

Korra, the new Avatar. Mako and Bolin, brothers that excelled in bending fire and earth; and she knew that it would be best to avoid all three of them as much as possible. Alina brought her hand up from her side and placed it in front of her face as she flashed her eyes opened. She continued to stare at it, wondering that maybe, just maybe, one day she wouldn't have to hide behind false pretenses. She loved being herself more than anything, but she loved her mother more. She sucked in a quick breath when she thought about her mother and everything that she had done for her. Who wouldn't respect their mother's only request? Alina would make sure to live by it, even if it means to lose her own self respect.  
Narrowing her brows, she heard a creaking sound coming from the other room and she quickly sat up. She shot a baleful stare in the direction of the sound and to her surprise; her mother poked her head in.  
"Darling, I just wanted to make sure that you were here." Her mother said with a gleeful expression upon her face.  
"Where were you?"  
"Oh. I was over at Tenzin's house." Her mother said, averting her gaze to the floor. "I didn't know the Avatar was here in Republic City and under Tenzin's care. But I guess there's nothing to do but to avoid her."  
Alina tried to keep a straight face, only because she knew that her mother would flip if she mentioned anything about meeting Korra today. She shook her head, "yes ma'am. I know. I'm not allowed to associate with the Avatar."  
"That's my girl. So where did you go today?"  
"No where really." Alina lied. "I just went over to view the Fire Lord's statue."  
"Alina!" her mother snapped. "I told you to avoid that statue like the plague. Why did you disobey me?"  
Alina took a deep breath inward as she wiped a hand over her face, "Mother, look. If you keep trying to control my every thought and move, all that will do is make me hide things from you."  
Her mother stared at her in awe. She raised a hand, covering her mouth, before she turned and left the room. Alina shook her head and quickly got to her feet. She didn't need this right now and she wouldn't continue bowing to her mother's negativity. She walked over to her dresser drawer that sat on the opposite side of her room and opened the top drawer. Removing a pair of pants and a big T-shirt, she changed and then crawled into bed.

The next morning, Alina woke up early and wandered out of her bedroom. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, noticing that her mother was nowhere to be found. "Mother? Are you here?"  
When only silence echoed her back, she knew that her mother was back over at Tenzin's and probably wouldn't be back for hours. She plopped down in a chair, glancing up to the ceiling. She drew in a breath and then exhaled it in one smooth motion as she crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and pressed her lower torso against the chair until she got to her feet. She slowly opened her eyes and walked back to her room to change into her normal attire. Staring at herself in the mirror, she came to the terms that she wasn't beautiful at all. Dressed in a fire nation attire with her black hair tied back into a ponytail with long ringlets that laid against her shoulders. She narrowed her green hues, noticing that her faint blue eye shadow was just that…faint. Again, she drew a breath inward and then headed for the door for town.  
She wandered through the streets observing the bystanders and the shops. She cut her eyes over to a group of citizens that were trash talking about the Avatar. She rolled her eyes and pressed forward. The last thing she needed was to get involved with a raging war between benders and non-benders. Before too long, dusk fell across the sky and she found herself standing in front of the Fire Lord statue. The flame burning in his hand reminded her of her new found friends, Mako, Bolin, and Korra. She quickly turned around and saw Korra and Mako, riding on a polar bear dog.  
"Hey Alina. What are you doing out here?" Korra asked, gripping the reins around her pet, bring it to a halt.  
"Oh, nothing. Just admiring the Fire Lord."  
"Have you seen my brother?" Mako asked as he jumped off her the animal.  
"Nice to see you too, but no, I haven't seen Bolin since the either day. Why? Is everything OK?"

Ignoring her, Mako approached a kid and found out that Bolin had left with a guy named Shady Shin to do some business with the Triple Threat Triad. Both, Korra and Mako, darted for the polar bear dog and then jumped onto it.  
"Alina, are you coming?" Korra yelled over her shoulder. "If so, jump on Naga's back and hold on to Mako."  
Mako shot Korra a baleful stare, however, Alina could have cared less. She jumped on to Naga's back and wrapped her arms around Mako's waist. "Let's go. We have to save Bolin, quickly."  
Naga whipped her body around and followed Korra's directions from the reigns. Mako pointed to the normal hangout and all three jumped off of Naga's back. Noticing that the front was empty, Korra kicked down the door and Mako and Alina followed her closely. Alina cut her eyes from left to right, glaring at the overturned furniture. To her, it seemed like the raid had already taken place and that they were a step behind.  
The roar of engines came in from outside and Alina and her friends duck out the back door, seeing only Bolin gagged in the back of a truck caused rage and worry to overwhelm each of them. Alina fell back and jumped onto Naga's back, figuring that Korra would call for her and chase after them. Being right, Korra and Mako joined her on the polar bear dog's back and chased after the bikes and the truck, that is, until two bikes swirled and turned around and threw a cord, allowing it to wrap around Naga's legs. Being flung from Naga's back, Korra and Mako land inches away, allowing the enemy to come closer. As a fight urges between Korra, Mako and the two other masked men, Korra and Mako ends up getting their chi blocked and became unable to bend. One of the men approached Alina with raised hands; however, she took two steps backwards, "No need to chi-block me. Just bound my hands!"  
With that, the man bound her hands together and threw her against Naga. Alina narrowed her hues as she looked down to Naga's bondage and reached for them with her own bound hands.  
Moments later, Naga broke free and jumped in front of her owner, along with Pabu, scaring the enemy away. Alina rubbed her wrists, glancing down to see the red lines where her bonds cut deeply into her flesh. Learning about, Amon, Korra glanced over to Alina, and gestured her to come closer. Alina did so, and leaned in so she could hear her without allowing Mako to.  
"We are going to search for Bolin. Are you going to come?" Korra asked, sliding a hand through her hair.  
"I can't. I have to head home. But…"Alina slid a hand into one of her pockets and took a piece of paper out and jotted down her living arrangements with a pen that she had found earlier that day. "If you get a lead, you can find me here. I would join you, but my mother is…strict."  
Korra nodded, "OK. If we get anything, we will come and get you."

Alina was finally home, and before her, was her mother with an aggravated expression upon her face. She knew that her mother would yell at her about her absence, but who could blame her? One of her friends was missing and she could do nothing to assist in finding him.  
"Alina! Where were you!"  
"Mother calm down." Alina said, trying to reassure her mother that there was nothing to worry about. "I met a friend the other day, and he went missing today. I was trying to help his brother find him."  
"Darling…I'm so sorry to hear that…but you know better than to get involved with…such…people."  
"Mother! I'm not better than anyone! Just because you don't want anyone to know about me, doesn't mean you can keep them away from me!"  
Alina's mother narrowed her eyes as she took a step closer to her daughter. She placed a firm hand against her shoulder, "Darling…I just don't want anything to happen to you like what happened to your father."  
Alina shook her head and stomped out of the house and walked over to a tree that sheathed the house from the sinking sun's rays. She glanced upward, mentally measuring the distance from her to the nearest tree branch. When she got the approximate distance, she reached forward with both arms and jumped upward; grabbing hold of the branch and pulling herself up. Once she was sitting on the branch, she peered over to the next highest branch and then continued to do the pull up motion until she sat perched up on the second highest branch in the tree. She drew a deep breath inward and then exhaled it in three small spurts and then turned her attention to the people below.  
Sometimes she wished she could be a normal teenager without all of the secrets, but if anyone found out about her, she knew that, not only she would be in danger, but everyone that she had ever loved. She leaned backwards, resting her head against the trunk of the tree, averting her gaze from the small amounts of sun's rays. The last thing she needed right now was to go blind by staring at the sun for too long. The sun finally set and Alina came to the conclusion that Mako and Korra didn't have any luck thus far on Bolin's location. She felt her eyes getting heavy and before too long, she fell asleep.

Alina felt the warm sensation of the sun beaming down onto her cheeks and her eyes flashed open. She peered around, noticing that she slept in the tree the entire night. She quickly climbed down and headed for town when she ran into Mako and Korra. They handed her a flyer and left. She figured that they had a hint that Bolin was being held captive there. She turned and walked back home, changing into a less attraction outfit and headed for the location. She knew that if all three of them went to the event, they would have a bigger chance in finding Bolin.

By the time she arrived to the destination, and was stopped by rough looking man.  
"This is a private event." The man said, folding his arms over his chest, "No one gets in without an invitation."  
Alina fumbled around in her pockets and pulled out the flyer and showed it to the man, "This is it, correct?"  
"Welcome my sister. The revelation is upon us."  
She walked past him, rolling her eyes. She made her way through the crowd and found Mako and Korra; however, she decided to keep her distance for the moment. Her attention was drawn to center stage, where a man hidden behind a mask and an army-style cloak was pronounced as the leader known as Amon. He discussed how bending brought suffering to the world and that he had a power to permanently chi-block bending. Taken back by his statement, Alina forced her way through the crowd until she was beside Mako. Her eyes widen when four people filled the stage, one of them being Bolin. This Amon guy was about to demonstrate how to take a person's bending away and Bolin was one of the test subjects.  
Alina gasped when she saw a girl walk from the corner of the stage and grabbed hold of the guy known as Lighting Bolt Zolt. She placed a hand over her mouth when she realized exactly who she was. Her body began to shake slightly, which Mako caught on to.  
"What is it?" he asked, concern somewhat in his voice.  
"T-that's…m-my…s-sister…"


	4. Chapter 3: Surprise!

Taken back by her sister's presence, Alina closed her eyes and whipped her body around and headed for the door. She didn't want to be anywhere near her sister or this type of thing. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Bolin, but there was no way she would be in the same room as her older sister. She drew in a deep breath and then exhaled it in a whoosh sound as she rounded the corner to the only way to reach Tenzin's house. She had a feeling that her mother was still discussing _options_ with the airbender and quite frankly, Alina thought it was pointless. There was no reason to discuss anything about her or even about Korra. Nothing would change who they were or their friendship. Besides, a real problem had surfaced and she knew her mother would die when she heard it.  
Grabbing the door handle, she threw the door open and stomped into a room full of now spinning heads. Sitting at the table was an older gentleman with a blue arrow that covered his head, which she assumed was Avatar Aang's son. Sitting across from him was her mother who, at the moment, didn't look happy at all.  
"Darling what are you doing here?" her mother asked, clasping her hands together on the table.  
"Mother, I need to talk to you." Alina mumbled, glancing over to the older man, "Sorry for being so rude, but it's important."  
"Alina, we can discuss it when we get home. Now's not a good time."  
The younger girl snapped her attention back to her mother, her brows narrowed as she spoke, "Do you ever listen to me? This is more important than talking about me or about the Avatar. This is about your daughter or have you forgotten all about _Kalia_?"  
Her mother's brows arched as she heard the name _Kalia_ and noticed that Alina was actually worried for once.  
"Tenzin, I'm sorry but would you please excuse us for a moment." Her mother said as she grabbed her daughter by the forearm and guided her out of the airbender's house. She whipped her own body around and released her grip, continuing to stare at her daughter. Anger, worry, concern. All three of those emotions were in her mother's glare.  
"Alina, are you sure? Kalia?"  
"Yes. I would notice her anywhere." Alina husked, talking with her hands from time-to-time. "Mother, what are we going to do?"  
Her mother paced back and forth for a few moments, before she wiped a hand through her raven, black hair. "OK, you listen to me and listen good. Do not repeat this to anyone. If Kalia found out about us being in Republic City, there will be nothing but trouble. Just go home and we will discuss this, another time. Preferable in the morning."  
With that, Alina headed home and decided that she would go to bed early so she could discuss everything with her mother in the morning.

The next morning, Alina woke up late and she knew that her mother had already left. She slid a hand over her tired face and finally swung her legs over the side of the bed, gently placing her feet on the floor. She wandered into the main room and saw a note from her mother lying on the table.

Alina,  
I went out to town for a bit to try and find Kalia. Maybe if I find out something about her, then we won't have to take such precautions. I will meet you at Kuang's Cuisine tonight and we can discuss everything about last night and what I found out this morning. Please wear your formal attire. We have a lot to discuss.

Love always,  
Mom

After reading the note, Alina took in a deep breath as she shook her head. She hated to dress in any type of formal attire and her mother knew that. Did her mother enjoy seeing her in since agony? Also, why did her mother want to talk about such private matters in a public place? Raising her hand, she slapped her forehead and then rake it downward to her mouth. "I hate my life…"  
Walking back into her room, she looked through her clothing and found the perfect outfit. A long crimson dress that brushed against her knees with a light black stripe that wraps around the waist. She looked at herself in the mirror and then ran her hands through her hair. Finally satisfied with herself, she walked out of the house and headed for Kuang's Cuisine.  
When she was standing in front of the restaurant, she lowered her gaze to the floor as she took in a deep breath. She took a few steps forward and asked the host to seat her with her mother. Shortly after, she was led to a table where her mother was sitting and then she took a seat across from her. She crossed her legs, trying to keep them closed as her mother started to talk  
"Darling, we need to talk about Kalia." Her mother said as she placed her hands on the table. "If she is here, we will have to move immediately."  
"Mother, she hasn't seen me…"  
Her mother raised her hand and silenced Alina, "Maybe she hasn't, but I'm not taking any chances. You have something special and if she told anyone about it, you would be the number one target. And you know that."  
"Alina? Ms. Lia-Lee?" a feminine voice called out find behind mother and daughter.  
Alina turned her head in the direction of the voice and her eyes widen, while her mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe who was standing in front of her. It was Mako and…a girl.  
"Alina, it's so good to see you after all these years!" the girl exclaimed.  
"Um, excuse me. Who are you…and…why are you with Mako!"  
"Asami Sato…is that you!" Alina's mother asked, extending her hand.  
"Ms. Lia-Lee, it's nice to see you again. It's nice to see you as well, Alina."  
"That still doesn't explain why you are with Mako!" Alina snapped, banging her fist down on the table.  
"We are on a date…" Asami said, tucking her arm around his, as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Um…Alina, why is your eye twitching?"  
Alina felt the vibrations in her right eye flicking more rapidly which only aggravated her more. She bit her bottom lip as she sucked in a deep breath before she pushed her body forward and was in a standing position. Part of her wanted to rip Asami off of Mako's arm, but the other part just wanted to leave. She glanced upward as she thought about Asami and Mako as a couple and just the thought of them two caused her stomach to churn. As she tried to figure out why she felt so ill by that thought, she slid her hand through her hair, smelling the sweet scented shampoo she used earlier in the day. Before too long, Alina realized that Asami and Mako were no longer standing in front of her table, but sitting at their own table across the room. She cut her eyes at them and for a mere second; locked gazes with Mako. She closed her own eyes and took her seat back in front of her mother, who was glaring at her with heated eyes.  
"Mind explaining the sense of jealousy?"  
"I'm not jealous!" Alina snapped, and then rolled her eyes. "Can we just get back to talking about Kalia and her possible motive?"  
Lia-Lee sighed heavily, "Fine, but you have to promise me to stay away from that boy." She shifted her body in her seat and stared into her daughter's eyes, "If she is working with the Equalists then maybe we can stop her. I mean, maybe we can figure out what the Equalists really want."

Glancing over two tables, Mako couldn't help but stare at her. There was something that drew him to her, just how flies are attracted to honey, except he didn't know why. She was different, very different, than anyone that he had ever met. True enough he was with Asami tonight, but his thoughts were of Alina. Underneath the candlelight, her pallor skin was radiant and the dark color of her dress brought out all her best features. He nodded occasionally to Asami's comments, but his attention was still stuck on the other girl. He took in a deep breath and then blew it out quickly before looking back over to his date. He felt somewhat awkward being there with Asami when he had feelings for Alina, but it wasn't as if Alina and he were a couple or really good friends.

Nodding to her mother's statement, Alina rested her elbows on the table as she tucked her chin in the palm of her hands. Cocking an eyebrow, she cleared her throat before she straightens her stance in her seat. "Mother, can we discuss this another time? It feels weird talking about our private matters when Mr. Sato's daughter's here.  
"Fine, but we will continue this conversation later. You are dismissed, but try to stay out of trouble." Her mother murmured as she pressed a fingertip against the center of her forehead. "The last thing we need is for you to be in confinement."  
Alina felt the blood rushing to her checks and she quickly got to her feet and then headed for the door to exit the restaurant. However, before she could reach the safety of the door, she was stopped by the one person she really didn't want to talk to…Asami.  
"Alina, where are you going? You can join me and Mako, if you like."  
Alina closed her eyes tightly as she heard her name rolling off of Asami's tongue, but she remained calm and faced her with bright, open eyes. "Thank you, but I have my own plans I need to attend to."  
Asami tilted her head to the side, removing her hand from Mako's grip, motioning for Alina to take a seat across from them. Alina went to reject, but her mother jumped between the two girls and flashed a half-lit smile.  
"Alina, dear. If you continue to stall in here, you're going to be late for your date." Her voice rose as she gently placed a hand against her daughter's back. Continuing to stare at her mother, Alina forced her throat to swallow and then the corners of her lips quirked upwards as she begun to speak.  
"I know mother, and thank you for reminding me. I don't need to be any later than I am already." With a wave, Alina left the couple and headed for the door once more, but before leaving, she glanced over her shoulder to see a blank expression upon Mako's face.


End file.
